Huskies Take Last Trip To Madison Square Garden This Season

STORRS — — As they move into the stretch run of the season, the Huskies need to keep that chip right where it is.

"You work hard every day," Ryan Boatright said. "You put the work in and get to see other schools not even doing as well as you are [going to the postseason]. I don't even like to watch ESPN, I see that dag-gone 'journey to the tourney' commercial every other commercial, I get so irritated."

So far, UConn (15-5, 5-3 Big East) has been able to channel that irritation in a positive way, toward playing hard and collecting victories. As a result, the Huskies still have a chance to win the Big East regular season title, trailing the league leaders by just one game in the loss column.

And, as coach Kevin Ollie has reminded them, they can get edgy all over again on Wednesday when they go to Madison Square Garden, site of the Big East tournament from which they are barred, to play St. John's at 7 p.m.

"Coach Ollie stressed that after the game [Sunday]," Shabazz Napier said. "It's going to be the last game we play in The Garden this year. It kind of settled in with the guys. Coming here as a freshman, it's what you want to do, play in the Garden. That's something beautiful, to play in the Garden. We want to go out and give 110 percent because it's our last time playing in the Garden this year."

The Huskies are on a three-game winning streak with the OT victories over Providence and South Florida. This next game is like many the Huskies have played this season – winnable, but far from easy. The Red Storm (14-8, 6-4) had won five in a row before losing to Georgetown on Saturday, and they present a unique matchup.

"We've got to have our matchups in tune, understand who we're playing against," Ollie said. "We've got to design a defense to withhold them — all five of them can catch and shoot mid-range, and catch and drive. JaKarr Sampson is a problem, he's a freshman who plays like a seasoned veteran."

Sampson, 6 feet 8, has guard-like agility and ball-handling skills. St. John's other starters, Jamal Branch, Sir'Dominic Pointer, Phil Green IV and D'Angelo Harrison, who averages 18.9 points, all provide "offensive power at every position on every possession," Ollie said.

But Branch sprained his knee Saturday and will not play. In that event, St. John's can roll out Chris Obekpa, a 6-9 freshman from Queens who UConn recruited hard but lost to the school closer to home. Obekpa has 99 blocks.

"We're close friends," said UConn freshman guard Omar Calhoun. "I tried to get him to come here after I committed. The way he can block shots, he's a guy I like playing with. He's not the tallest, but he knows how to time blocks, when to jump."

Obekpa's lengthy presence could stymie UConn's penetration game, forcing the Huskies into what has become a familiar predicament — searching for an alternative way to get it done.

"The resiliency of this team is so strong," said Napier, the Big East player of the week. "We understand we have to work together to win games."

With all hope of changing the minds of league presidents exhausted, the Huskies, ineligible for the NCAA Tournament because of sub-par academic performance several years ago, will not play in the Big East Tournament at MSG beginning March 11. It is St. John's home court, but UConn has a history of big things in the Garden. They won the 1988 NIT there, the victory that launched the program toward elite status, and have a strong history in the Big East tournament. Calhoun is the latest in a line of New York players to come to UConn, and he admits to having been a little over-amped when the Huskies played at the Garden on Dec. 4, a loss to North Carolina State in the Jimmy V Classic.

"Not nervous," he said, "but it felt different, playing there, it's a different arena. Every New York kid dreams of playing there."

Callhoun went 1 for 5 with three turnovers in that game. Boatright, who was particularly down after the loss Dec. 4, said "we want to do well there, after we dropped the ball against N.C. State."

The Huskies took a day off Monday to recover from the second of their physically and emotionally grueling wins, the 69-64 win over South Florida. Ollie planned a hard, but short practice on Tuesday. The Huskies trail the league leaders, Syracuse and Marquette, by one game in the loss column with 10 games left.

"We still have the opportunity to win a conference championship, which is elusive," Ollie said. "That's the first and foremost goal of any season. As kids, or like anyone really, you have those different enemies on your shoulder, the one saying you wish you were in the postseason. Doubts creep in, like why are we playing? But I don't see that happening. … We're going to relish the opportunity. I just want us to keep playing the right way, it's a tremendous honor to play and coach here, take it with respect."